riddle

CHAPTER 19

After a chaotic and slightly awkward day I am back in the comfort of my bed. I can't believe the events of today. Cedric mentioned something about the Yule Ball before, but what did he say about it?

Shit.

He asked me to go with him. Well I'll just have to think of the least insulting way to reject him. Anyway that's tomorrow's problem. I envelop myself cozily in my thick duvet for the harsh winter weather and snuggle up in the warmth.

After a few minutes I begin to fall asleep but am pulled out of my state when a tap occurs on my arm. God, its so cold. I lethargically roll over onto my other side to see who awoke me and am met with tired looking silver eyes. Draco's eyes. "Raven, were you sleeping?" He asks me with a concerned look on his beautiful face. "No, almost though" "oh, I'm sorry, I'll just go then" he says and gets up from his kneeling position beside my bed. I reach out my hand and pull him back down. "Well you've already done the damage so, what do you want?" "Put on some warm clothes and follow me" he says with a secretive smile.

What could he be doing?

I put on about three jumpers and a pair of sweatpants layering some black thermals. "Okay I'm ready" I say and he takes my hand in his and we apparate to the quidditch pitch. "It's cold Draco, what are we doing out here?" I ask, my fingers going numb from the chilling breeze. He walks a few steps forward and picks up a stranded broomstick. "Come here then" he says and beckons me with his hand. "Now, get on" "no! You know how bad I am at flying" "well, that's exactly why we are out here" with this he pulls me over and I summon the broom to my hand with immense difficulty but it finally obeys.

I put one leg on each side of the magical wooden stick and now I'm mounted. I bend my knees a little whilst gripping the wood so tightly that my numb hands turn from blue to white around the bones. I push off from the floor and hover at least 5 inches above it. "Go higher" Draco demands and I argue for a while before building up the courage and lifting a bit higher.

I slowly begin to levitate forwards and I'm doing it. I'm flying! I pick up some speed and my broom starts tipping at the front. Oh no! This is the one thing I feared the most when flying. I can't stop it from tipping and its a few centimetres from touching the floor where I'll be thrown off face first.

Suddenly I feel warm arms around my waist and I open my eyes not realising that I had shut them previously too see that I'm no longer on my broomstick.

Draco's POV

She's doing it! She's flying! She builds up speed and is soon zooming around like a professional. The front of her broom then starts tipping. This happened to me in second year, it wasn't fun. "Accio" I say and my nimbus 2001 appears in my hand. I mount it speedily and push off the floor towards Raven with ease. She's still leaning forward too much and its causing her broom to tilt towards the ground. If it touches the floor then she will plunge face first into the ground.

I get to her in a matter of seconds and scoop her into my arms, discarding the mangled broomstick. I immediately lower my broom to the floor to check if Raven's ok. We land and I sit down on the floor beckoning her to me. She sits beside me, shaking. I take off my black fleece and give it to her. She accepts it and I see a blush spread over her pale cheeks.

We sit there in silence and I just admire her. Her dark black hair sits around her head like a lions mane, being pushed up by her green scarf. She looks warm from the 3 jumpers that she layered on but you can tell that she is still freezing from the red tip of her nose and her shivering limbs. Snow starts to fall down and specks of it land in her hair. She looks ethereal. Small dots of white scatter her eyelids like grains of sugar. Her lips are swollen and pigmented a dark pink from the harsh weather. The strong wind sets a few strands loose from the comfort of her scarf and they whip around her face.

I reach out my hand and tuck them cozily behind her red-tipped ear. She stares at my fingers as they retract from her head then her gaze falls on my lips. I can't help the stupid grin that covers my almost frozen face. I lean into her and the heat exuding from her body warms me instantly. She's perfect. Perfect. But she's not mine, and I can't ever let her be. I can't let her fall for me. Then what the fuck am I doing here!?

She's asleep now, she surely wouldn't realise if I just... left.